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‘Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis’ Review

Despite a singular artistic vision and a masterly command of materials, color and line, Norman Lewis has remained relatively unknown

By

James Panero

Dec. 15, 2015 6:55 p.m. ET

Philadelphia

‘Procession: The Art of Norman Lewis” at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is impossible to see without experiencing multiple emotions. The first is exhilaration, over Lewis’s artistic vision; his command of materials, color and line; and the freshness he brings to our art-historical understanding. The second is regret, over what has been to this point our general ignorance of a singular American artist; more than 35 years after his death in 1979, Lewis is only now receiving his first full retrospective....